Six-figure investment helps Shropshire-based ACE build on growth

Supporting the growing electric vehicle market and the aerospace industry’s push for lightweight parts has helped Advanced Chemical Etching (ACE) boost sales by 40%.

The company, which has also created 12 new jobs to cope with demand, is looking to build on the recent expansion by completing a £500,000 investment drive that has seen it install new inspection equipment and two pre and post cleaning machines.

This means the Telford-based firm can move from manually processing 350 sheets a day to over 1000, giving it capacity to meet the target of £10 million of sales by 2021.

Chris Ball, executive director at ACE, said: “We have built a strong track record for producing high quality precision components that are ideal for use in the electrification of vehicles and in helping to reduce weight across F1 cars, aircraft and in some intricate medical implants

“The last 12 months have exceeded all expectations and we’re probably up an extra £1.5 million on where we thought we would be. New orders have come from clients in the UK, the EU, Malaysia, Thailand and the Far East. Despite the difference in geography, the reason they use ACE is simple: repeatable quality and short lead times.”

He added: “I know there’s a lot of speculation about Brexit uncertainty, but we’re genuinely not seeing it and believe that investing from a position of strength is the best thing to do.

“In addition to automating the pre and post cleaning operations, we have also installed an XRF machine in the laboratory and 3D microscope and new Co-ordinate Measurement Machine for the inspection department.”

ACE specialises in the development of prototype components, pre-production and volume fulfilment to customers in aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical, telecoms and renewables.

The scope of its activities is far and wide and can include anything from safety critical components for aircraft and F1 cars to meshes and electronic connectors and even frames for designer glasses.

All parts are developed and manufactured at its main site in Telford or at the company’s dedicated sister business, ACE Forming, in Kingswinford.

ACE www.ace-uk.net